I Never Thought it Would be Her
by sharinganzilla
Summary: This story is an alternate version of the Hueco Mundo Arc, starting with the defeat of Nnnorita at Nel's hands. This is also planned to be an IchixNel fanfic. Rated M for content that will be appearing in the future.
1. Chapter 1

I Never Thought it Would be Her

Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine. It's Kubo Tite's

Chapter 1: The Return of the True Neliel

"It's done." said Neliel Tu Oderschvank, looking over the corpse of Nnoitra Jiruga. She had impaled him with Gamuza as he tried for one final strike. She took the sword form his now lifeless body, cleaned it, and looked at him once more.

"It's so sad that life has to be cruel like this." she said, closing her eyes.

She then reverted back to her child form and looked at Orihime and Ichigo. She smiled at them, and then leaped towards Ichigo and gave him an enormous hug.

"ICHIGO!! I did it!!!" the little arrancar said as she squeezed him with all she had.

"Nel! You're choking me!" Ichigo said, but Nel didn't listen at all. Orihime just looked on smiling. It was then that she had a great idea. She now had a better understanding of her powers, and thought that just maybe she could return Nel to who she once was. She smiled at this and walked to her with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Nel-san, do you think that I can fix your skull? Maybe you can return to your old self for good this time." she said, looking at the arrancar with hopeful eyes. Nel's eyes widened and her face lit up.

"REALLY?!?!" Please oh please do that!!!" she said. Orihime nodded went to Nel's side.

"Sōten Kisshun! I reject!" she said as the orange aura enveloped Nel. The crack in her skull became faint and vanished, and the mask assumed its old form. There was an explosion of pink smoke, like when Nel first transformed against Nnoitra. A few seconds later, she was in her adult form once more with her her old arrancar mask reborn anew. She looked at Ichigo and Orihime, and gave them a huge hug.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!" she shouted to the duo. She saw however that they were turning purple, so she decided to let go. "I need to remember that I'm my old self again, and I'll hurt you two if I'm not careful!" she added with a smile. Ichigo and Orihime returned the smile with another.

"Well, now what?" asked Ichigo, looking at his surroundings. They were still in Hueco Mundo and for he knew, were all that remained of their original party that first went there. Nel smacked Ichigo on the head, with the force of it knocking him to the ground face first. She quickly gasped, having forgotten her strength again.

"Ichigo! Are you okay?!" she asked as she knelt to his side. Ichigo said nothing, which made Nel more nervous. She turned him over, and saw Ichigo looking at her with the biggest grin she'd seen him give. She became quite frustrated and began to yell. "IDIOT!!! I THOUGHT THAT I MIGHT HAVE KILLED YOU, AND HERE YOU GO PLAYING IT OFF LIKE NOTHING. I SWEAR YOU ARE SO THICK!!!" Ichigo looked at her, and got up. He went to her and gave her a hug.

"For that, I am sorry. Seeing you hurt and mad like that broke a part of me inside." he whispered into her ear. Her anger flew away and she looked at him. He looked into her eyes, and for a brief moment they were in a state of ecstasy. They looked away though, both of them knowing that it would never work. Ichigo had Orihime Nel thought, and she was an arrancar, so technically she was an enemy of Ichigo. Ichigo felt that Nel didn't like him, and also, he was a shinigami, an enemy of arrancars. He knew he was more related to her than the other shinigamis due to the fact that he was a vizard, but he felt that was just getting his hopes up. He also thought of Orihime, however he never had feelings for her quite like he was having for Nel. Something about her was special.

"Let's get out of here and look for everyone." Ichigo said, looking at the two. They nodded, and they went to look for their friends, hoping that they were still living. They saw Ishida and Renji fighting Szayel _Aporro_ in his released form.

"I'll take care of this one." Ichigo said, rushing to the arrancar.

"Ichigo!" Renji said, looking on as he saw the shinigami charge Szayel from behind. Szayel in turn looked behind him just in time to see the shinigami ram Tensa Zangetsu through his heart. The arrancar looked at his wound and grimaced.

"You will pay for that, for piercing my beautiful body like that!!" He said, letting his reiatsu out.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry." Ichigo replied, sending a Getsuga Tenshou through Szayel. There was an explosion, and blood was all over the place. Orihime turned away at the sight.

"Kurosaki..." Ishida said, looking at the sight. Ichigo looked at them, and then at what he had done. Szayel was split in half from the chest down, and a look of pain and fear was burned into his now deceased face.

"What?" he replied.

"We had so much trouble against this guy, and here you go and kill him in what seemed like a second. What have you been do..." Ishida said, falling to the ground, holding his stomach.

"Whoa Ishida! What's wrong?!" Ichigo asked.

"It's Szayel's ability." Renji said. "He makes a voodoo doll of us, and then opens it up. Inside are little candy shaped pieces that represent our internal organs. He then picks a random piece and destroys it. He destroyed Ishida's stomach." he said looking at Ishida. Everyone was taken aback.

"Oh no! Ishida!" Orihime said running to him, casting Sōten Kisshun along the way. He looked at her, and muttered "Inoue-san...thank you." The two smiled at each other almost like how Nel and Ichigo had earlier. As Ichigo saw this, his mind went black.

When he came to, he was in his inner world. In front of him stood his inner hollow with a smirk on his face.

"Why are YOU here? I thought Zangetsu would have returned!" Ichigo yelled.

"Chill out your majesty. I am Zangetsu remember? And also, I _still_ am stronger than him, so I _still_ reserve the right to exist here as I do. But nevertheless, I need to talk to ya." Hichigo said.

"You?! Wanting to talk to me? What do you want?" Ichigo asked his hollow self.

"It's about the situation you're in right now. Right now, you could potentially save or break the world as we know it." said Hichigo, looking on.

"What? What are you talking about?" Ichigo said.

"I swear your majesty, you are thick. It's that hot arrancar Nel and the other hottie Orihime. Look, I'll dumb it down to a level that you'll understand. Depending on who ya choose, and how ya go about it, the one who you hurts actions will determine how this whole situation plays out. Take for example, ya choose Orihime. Nel will be hurt, and would hate you after she got over it. What then you ask? She's still an Espada, and chances are will simply go back to Aizen. It doesn't help that she's the third strongest either. If you had to fight her you would die in the state you're now." Hichigo said.

"Are you joking?! Nel would never do that."

"You just proved to me that ya like that arrancar." Hichigo said, starting to grin.

"And hows that?"

"I said depending on who ya choose and how you go about it, remember? Ya said nothing about ya liking _only_ Orihime after I said those words. You instead immediately jumped to her defense, as someone who likes someone else would!!" Hichigo said, cackling. Ichigo thought on these words. "How does he know?" he asked himself.

"Because I...no we are essentially the same being. I know what ya feel when you feel it, and ever since Nel revealed her true form, ya have been thinking non stop about her. And how do I know that? It shows in this world. Look around...there ain't no clouds around, and it feels warm. When ya think about her this world is in harmony. When ya think of Orihime on the other hand, this world becomes cloudy-as in corrupt with lust." the hollow said. Ichigo was taken aback. He knew what his inner hollow was saying was right. He lusted Orihime, but now, he had _feelings_ for Nel. He did not want to hurt Orihime, but who he wanted the most was Nel. The sun shone brighter in the world

"See my point" Hichigo asked, smirking at Ichigo "Remember your majesty, who you really like is the arrancar, and the other girl, Orihime...well she has slight feelings for Ishida anyway. What you need to do is encourage the two to get together. That way she won't be _too_ hurt when you do Nel!!" Hichigo cackled.

"You're sick." Ichigo said.

"But ya know I'm right. Besides, if you do what I just told ya, the worst that can happen is ya don't hook up with Orihime. Anyway, we need to move on to something way more important than who ya have a crush on." Hichigo said.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Ya ain't no good at usin my power. If ya were just the slightest bit better, you could have beat the Grimmjow in less than a minute." Hichigo said. Ichigo looked at his hollow angrily.

"I had you give me you allegiance! You still tryin to take over my body by trying to get me to almost die so you can save the day? Like that time with Byakuya?" Ichigo shouted. Hichigo smiled, and pointed his finger at Ichigo. A red ball of energy formed at the tip of his finger, and more red energy began to swirl around it.

"You know what this is right?" Hichigo asked. Ichigo knew exactly what it was. A Cero.

"Wait...you not going to fire that in here right!?" Ichigo stammered. Too late. Hichigo fired the blast, but went right b Ichigo's head and went into the air. Why did you miss?" Ichigo asked.

"Your majesty, no matter how obvious I try to be, ya still thick as a brick." the hollow said.

"Thick?! You fired a Cero at me!! I consider that attempted murder, you fool!" Ichigo yelled to his inner hollow. Hichigo shook his head and looked on with a frown on his face.

"Look, the reason I fired that blast was to show ya that _I_ can and _you_ can't, even though you have access to my power. I'm not like a your bankai where your previous abilities are enhanced substantially. When ya put on your mask and use my powers along with yours, you're a completely new person. What your problem is is that your treating me like a release of your soul slayer. Using my power is more like a transformation-like and Espada performing _Resurrección. _Look your majesty, if ya use my powers right, ya can even beat the number one Espada."Hichigo said folding his arms.

Ichigo saw this and thought about it. His hollow was right, he was merely using him like a tool, and treating him like how he used to treat Zangetsu-as a tool and not a part of him. "How do I fire a Cero?" Ichigo asked. His hollow looked at him and giggled.

"Pathetic. As soon as you see that I might have an ace in the hole that you don't, you immediately have got to have it. Tell ya what. Put on your mask, and fight me. If you can't think of a way to use a Cero before one of us loses, I'll take control of your body and have my way." Hichigo said, grinning evilly. Ichigo was startled by this, angry, and a little excited.

"Fine. I'll fight you, and I WILL use a Cero, and you WILL NOT have my body." he said, taking Tensa Zangetsu out. He covered his face, and transformed into a vizard.

"Ready, your highness?" asked Hichigo, pulling out the white Tensa Zangetsu.

"To beat you again, yes." replied Ichigo. The hollow smiled and put on his own mask, one that mirrored Ichigo's except the red and whit colors reversed. This surprised Ichigo. "What just happened?" Ichigo asked.

"As soon as ya became able to fully access my powers I was able to fully access yours, just like when we both learned bankai at the same time. I know how to use both of our powers to the fullest, so ya damn better learn Cero before one of us gets creamed." the hollow replied.

"Wait, if you lose before I learn Cero, how will I lose my body?" Ichigo asked.

"Simple. Since I know how to use both of our abilities to the fullest, I'll just challenge ya again and pull out all the stops. Then you'll have to call me majesty!" Hichigo roared, his reaitsu pouring out.

"Fine. Prepare yourself. You'll never defeat me." Ichigo said, rushing towards his inner hollow. The hollow did a flash step and appeared behind Ichigo. It smiled, and impaled the shinigami. Ichigo screamed as Hichigo pulled the sword out of him. He kicked Ichigo to the ground and laughed.

"If you had done that to me, I would have merely laughed it off. I know what ya are gonna say to that and here's my reply. The reason why I vanished like I did last time when you impaled me was because the fight was to see who was strong enough to rule, not strong enough to kill. I disappeared cause you proved yourself as the rightful ruler then. I could have easily used my hollow powers then and fired a Cero in you face. Majesty, think back, how was I able to use your body better than you when you got owned by Byakuya? My hollow reaitsu countered the nerve impulses in your body, and I was able to do anything. Use your hollow reaitsu, and you'll feel the same." Hichigo said, looking at the bleeding Ichigo.

"I can't let myself be consumed by that evil aura of mine in this form." Ichigo thought. "Wait...that's it. I have to use that evil reaitsu in order to use Cero, and to able to do what he just said...counter my nerves. Besides, I'm in control still and should have nothing to worry about." Ichigo added. "Well, here goes nothing." he said as he drew his hollow reaitsu inward. Suddenly there was an explosion of red and black flames. Ichigo stood up, his wound now healed, and black flames emanating from him. He felt good. He felt invincible.

"Finally." Hichigo said, rushing to Ichigo. Ichigo saw this and flashed stepped in front of the hollow and grabbed his Tensa Zangetsu. He smiled, and pointed a finger at the hollow. A black ball of energy formed REALLY quickly, and Ichigo fired it. It was about a yard wide with a black core and red flames on the outside. It also made the trademark Cero roar when fired. Hichigo let go of his sword and flash stepped away. He was terrified. He was also burned on his right side.

"Majesty, that was probably the _evilest_ Cero I have ever seen or felt. If that had hit me directly, I would have died." Hichigo said, eyes wide. Ichigo took his mask off. "Well as you can see, I've learned how to use Cero. Looks like I get to keep my body." he said. His inner hollow shut his eyes a little out of anger. He smiled, and then looked towards Ichigo normally again.

"If ya go into battle with anyone less than Aizen himself, chances are that they will die fast now. Ichigo, I'm done here. There's still a few things ya need to learn, and if ya don't get them I'll drag your lazy ass back here again." the hollow said, beginning to vanish. "I will leave you with one more thing though..." Ichigo got interested. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Hollows are _great_ in bed." Hichigo said, laughing his head off. Ichigo looked on with wide eyes "You're a sick bastard!!" He shouted. When the hollow left, he looked at the sky.

"Nel..." he said to himself as he left his inner world.

When he came to he saw that everyone was still looking on as Orihime was healing Ishida. "Thank goodness that that didn't take any time." Ichigo said to himself. Nel looked at him however. She walked to his side and whispered into his ear "You've changed. Just now-you have become something else. I can feel it. Don't worry. I like it." She said, smiling afterward. Ichigo returned the smile and said back into her ear "You've changed from the person who I first met in the sands of Hueco Mundo. Don't worry-I like it." he said. Nel blushed as Ichigo walked to Orihime.

"He will be mine." Nel said to herself. Ichigo turned around just as she said that, almost as if he heard her, and smiled towards her. She returned it, and the two were in another state of ecstasy. Renji saw this one however and grinned "Oh he's gonna get it _bad_ if he is gonna do what I think he wants to do with that woman. Wait..who IS that woman?!" he asked himself.

"Hey you with the skull on your head! Who are you?!" Renji shouted. Everyone looked at Nel.

"It's me, Nel. Remember, the little arrancar you met in the desert outside of Los Noches?" she said. Renji remembered, and his jaw dropped. He pointed at her and shouted "YOU?!? HOW?! The Nel I remembered was a little brat who was all over Ichigo..." he just got out before Ichigo came and kicked his head.

"What was that for?!" He shouted.

"You were insulting her!" Ichigo replied. The two looked mad at each other, and were about to fight. Nel stepped between them however and said: "Please don't, I hate fighting." Ichigo paused, and backed down. Renji looked, and grinned widely "She's got you whipped good Ichi-" he couldn't finish that sentence, and Nel proceeded to grab him by the collar. She put her head up to his ear and whispered "I hate fighting, but if Ichigo's involved, I might just forget about that." she released him and smiled. Ichigo looked on, puzzled. He blew it off though and looked on at the nearly healed Ishida. Renji walked over to Ichigo.

"It seems that the _real_ Nel has arrived. Hopefully she won't be a burden." as he said this Ichigo looked at him with a scowl. Renji then maneuvered himself so that only Ichigo would hear him, and said: "You hook up with her, and ALL of Soul Society will be after you. You will have no place to hide, and will be forever outcast."

"Ichigo looked at him, and smiled. "Nel is different. If Soul Society cannot accept her for who she is...then I have no need for Soul Society." Renji looked at him and smiled. "As always, you make me want to side with you. If it does happen that you two get together and shit hits the fan, I'll stand by you." he said.

"Thanks. I owe ya one." Ichigo said. Nel had actually heard all of this, and was starting to get it really bad for Ichigo now. Ishida and Orihime were done healing, and it was Renji's turn. His healing didn't take as long, and soon they were finished.

"Okay. Now we go and find Chad and Rukia." Ichigo said. Everyone nodded, and they departed.

This is the first chapter of my story. I really have no idea where it will go specifically, but I am planning for it to be an IchixNel, IshidaxOrihime, and RenjixRukia story. Also, I don't know how long it will take me to write the next chapter, as I am a student. Oh, if there is a long delay in chapter release, it's probably because I am waiting to see more of the story to unfold (Specifically, the top four Espada's Resurrección forms). Nevertheless, review if you'd like, and I'll be working away trying to bring this story to life/completion!


	2. Chapter 2

I Never Thought it Would be Her

Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine. It's Kubo Tite's

Chapter 2: Zommari Leroux

As everyone left Szayel's destroyed room, they wondered who they should go to rescue first. Ishida took a moment to feel their reaitsu out, and found who needed to be healed the most.

"Chad's reaitsu is the weakest right now." Ishida said, looking a the group with a grave face. They nodded, and hurried as quickly as they could to Chad's location. They soon reached where Chad was lying, next to the privarion Espada Gantenbainne Mosqueda. Gantenbainne saw the group approach and slowly stood up. "Who are you all?" he asked.

"You the one who did this to Chad?" Ichigo said, walking toward the arrancar with Tensa Zangetsu out. Gantenbainne took a step back, looking at the group, shaking his head madly. "No! It was Nnorita who put him in that state. Chad defeated me in battle." he said with sweat coming down his face.

"He's...right. Ichigo...don't hurt him." Chad said, looking at the shinigami with pleading eyes. Ichigo turned around and saw his friend's face. He nodded, lowered Zangetsu, and walked to Chad. He knew however that if the arrancar were to try anything he could take him in a few seconds. Orihime walked over to Chad and cast Sōten Kisshun. As the barrier formed over Chad, he turned to Orihime. "Please, heal Gantenbainne too." he said.

Everyone was startled by this. "Why? He's an arrancar, our enemy! He might come after us again if we heal him!" Ishida said. Ichigo looked at his friend with a frown.

"You know, just because he's an arrancar doesn't mean that he is our enemy now. Look at Nel, she's an arrancar, but at the same time she is now our friend and comrade in arms." Ichigo said. Ishida looked at Ichigo, and smiled.

"Yeah, technically, all of you are my enemies, so I guess it's all good." he added. Ichigo smiled, and looked back at Chad, who was nearly completely healed. Nel approached Ichigo calmly, and spoke to him. "Care to talk to me for a little bit?" she asked. "Sure." Ichigo said. The two flash stepped away, and left everyone except Renji confused.

"Why are Kurosaki-san and Nel-san leaving?" Orihime asked.

"Probably cause they need to talk about stuff. What about, I dunno." Renji replied. Ishida saw this as an opportunity to score points with Orihime, so he went to her side. "It still amazes me that abilities such as yours even exist." he said, smiling towards her. She looked at him puzzled.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Ishida, seeing now that this plan was half-baked, quickly tried to fix it. "I mean, your abilities to heal are second to none, and overall you are just..." he blushed really red and looked down at the ground. Orihime looked at him, confused. "Well, thanks!" she said, smiling towards Ishida. This made him blush even more. He moved walked over to Chad and sat by his side. Renji smirked at this and looked towards the sky. "Rukia..." he thought.

Ichigo and Nel moved far enough away so that they would not be seen or heard by anyone in the group. She looked at him with a grave face, but smiled before she began to speak.

"You've changed. Since I defeated Nnorita, your reaitsu has taken a more...confident aura. It feels as if that you have a keen grasp on what you can or cannot do, and that you feel that nothing can defeat you. What did you do?" she asked. Ichigo looked at her, and decided to tell her about him being a vizard.

"Nel, you know I have a mask that resembles a hollows mask, right?" he asked. She nodded. "In all actuality it _is_ a hollow mask. I, along with several other shinigami are known as vizards-shinigami that have acquired the powers of hollows, making them more powerful. We're kinda like arrancar, as we both are part hollow and part shinigami." he said. Nels' eyes opened wide. "So basically, you are the same as I am." she added. Ichigo nodded his head.

"More or less. The only difference is is that I started out as a shinigami, and you a hollow. Also, our soul slayers releases are different, but other than that, our differences are minute." Ichigo said.

"But how did you get your hollow powers?" Nel asked. Ichigo pulled Tensa Zangetsu out and looked at her, pointing the sword to her. "Grab it." he said. "And I will show you how I got my hollow powers." he added. Nel took the sword, and both of them blacked out.

When they came to, they were in Ichigo's inner world. Nel looked around, and noticed that they were standing SIDEWAYS on tall skyscrapers. "Umm..Ichigo...what's going on?!" she frighteningly asked.

"Oh, this is my inner world, where my Soul Slayer, Zangetsu, lives. It is also the home of my inner hollow, the source of my hollow abilities." Ichigo replied. Ichigo looked around hoping to see his hollow counterpart, but could not find him. He hot pissed and shouted for him.

"Hey you!! I need ya for a little bit, his majesty's brought a guest!" Ichigo said. Nel was perplexed by this, and even more so when a eerie voice called out: "What?! Ya actually wanna see me? This better be good, as I was takin it easy for once." the hollow said, materializing in front of the two. Nel gasped, seeing Hichigo for the first time.

"Ichigo, he looks...like you!" Nel said.

"Of course I do woman! His majesty and I are more or less the SAME person." Hichigo remarked. Ichigo looked to the hollow and frowned. Hichigo immediately burst out laughing. "So _this_ is the arrancar that's got my king all wound up inside. Damn, I'll give it to you you've got great taste!" Hichigo said, grinning and cackling. Ichigo turned bright red, and Nel looked at the two. "Hmm..." she thought. She walked to Hichigo and put out her hand.

"I am Neliel Tu Oderscvank, former Espada of Aizen's army, I take it you are Ichigo's inner hollow?" she asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" He asked, taking her hand. She grabbed it tight, and Hichigo's eyes widened. "You little.." he started. Nel gave him a death glare and said "Please, don't do anything to hurt him, because if you do something to him, I will be hurt, and I _hate_ feeling hurt." she said, releasing his hand while smiling. Hichigo took a few steps back and gazed at Nel. "She's a monster...like me!" he said to himself, grinning.

"Hey! Your majesty! What did ya want me for anyway?" Hichigo asked.

"If you could, please tell Nel about how you came to be." Ichigo asked. His inner hollow looked at him odd, but shrugged his shoulders.

"His majesty there almost turned into a hollow." Hichigo said, pointing his finger at Ichigo. "He got his borrowed powers taken from him, and he had to go and wake up his own death god powers. Well, he kinda screwed up doin that and he began to turn into a hollow! That's where I came from. I was that hollow that began to form. I would be the one in charge here had the king there not taken control and woke up his death god powers before I could fully take over." the hollow said begrudgingly. Nel looked at Ichigo with wide eyes.

"Wow Ichigo, I had no idea that this was in you." Nel said. Ichigo smiled. He turned to his inner hollow. "Okay, you can go now. I'm done here." Ichigo said. The hollow laughed and shook his head. "Not a chance." he said. "I wanna fight the arrancar now. I wanna see what she's got." Hichigo said, smirking at the two. Ichigo was taken aback, and Nel shook her head.

"I hate fighting." she said. Hichigo looked puzzled, and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just have to come at you!" he said, rushing the arrancar.

"Just like Nnorita." Nel muttered, flash stepping to the side. Hichigo grinned flash stepped himself. He grabbed her arm mid step and threw her to the ground. He cackled. Ichigo put Tensa Zangetsu to the hollows' throat.

"Attack even more, and I will kill you." Ichigo said. Hichigo laughed even harder. "You don't have what it takes." Hichigo said. Nel got up upon hearing this, Gamuza in hand.

"I'll take you on just this once. I hope you're ready." she said.

"Now we're talkin!!" he said. He then had the idea to use his bankai on her, just to rub it in her face more that he was better than her. "Hey girl. Watch this—Bankai!!" the hollow said. Ichigo was surprised. "He must really wanna fight." he said to himself, looking at the hollow who now had a white Tensa Zangetsu.

"You have a bankai? But you are a hollow. How is this?" Nel asked.

"Like I said earlier, his majesty and I are the SAME person. It's only natural we got a bankai." he said. "And are ya finished? I wanna end this quick." he added. Nel merely nodded her head, and walked toward Hichigo. Hichigo cocked his head and looked at her funny and charged her.

"Perfect." she thought, flash stepping in front of Hichigo with Gamuza out. He eyes opened out of surprise, and saw Gamuza zooming straight for his abdomen. He grabbed the sword just as the tip touched him, and held Tensa Zangetsu in the air. He glared madly at her, Nel felt a tiny shiver of fear go through her back.

"Getsuga Tenshou!!" the hollow shouted. A wave of white energy outlined in red shot towards the arrancar at point blank range. She raised Gamuza in the air to try halt the blast, but not soon enough. It cut her in the middle of her torso, completely removing the rags she was wearing on top of her, and cutting an inch thick gash in her. She coughed up blood and fell to her knees. Hichigo raised Tensa Zangetsu in the air for the final blow. It was stopped in midair by Ichigo, catching it with his bare hand.

"Enough. As your king, I order you to stop what you're doing and leave Nel alone." Ichigo said, glaring at the hollow. Hichigo lowered his sword and laughed. "Ya know your majesty, I was not going to _kill_ her. Just maybe show her who's boss around here." he said.

"Yeah, and that would be _me_." Ichigo said with conviction. He turned to Nel, and held out his hand. She took it, and Ichigo began to pump his reaitsu in her. Her bleeding stopped, and the wound closed. He smiled and gently lifted her up, only to get a full frontal view of her breasts. He turned bright red and turned around really fast. Hichigo laughed his head off at the sight and decided to leave with a few words.

"When you two do it, I wanna piece of the action!" he said, vanishing. Ichigo let a loud growl at this, and Nel let a slight smile emanate from her lips. Ichigo took off his coat, and gave it to Nel.

"You are so innocent Ichigo. It's _really_ cute." she said, a little seductively at that. Ichigo knew this, and even though he didn't let it show, he loved it. Nel put on the coat, and Ichigo turned to face her.

"Well I'm not sure if that went well, but at least know you know." Ichigo said to Nel. He held out Tensa Zangetsu, letting her know that it was time to go. She nodded and took the sword.

"You are strong Ichigo." she said, looking at Ichigo with warm eyes. The two of them left his world in a state of happiness.

When they returned to the outside world, Nel had her rags on and Ichigo's coat was back on him. "Well, we should get back." Nel said to Ichigo.

"Yeah, we really ought to." he replied. They flash stepped to where they left the group, and were still there, however now Gantenbainne was the one getting healed now. He was almost healed though, as he was chatting with everyone there. Gantenbainne was standing up, apparently not that injured at all now. He showed battle damage, but other than that he was fine.

"Thanks." he said as Nel and Ichigo walked up to him.

"Hey no prob." Ichigo said. Chad was looking at Nel though, for he didn't know who she was just yet. "Who are you?" he asked. Nel was puzzled by this, until she remembered that Chad had not seen her transform. "It's me, Nel!" she said, smiling. Chad's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly.

"I'll explain everything later." Ichigo said. Orihime stood up, signifying that the healing process was over, and Chad followed suit. Nel looked around abruptly, and became worried.

"Where are Pesche and Dondochakka?" she asked. Renji and Ishida looked at each other, and then to the ground. Nel saw this, and assumed the worst.

"Pesche and Dondochakka were killed by Szayel." Ishida said. "After they failed to kill him with their synchronized Cero, Szayel killed them. He made voodoo dolls of them, and the destroyed every organ inside the doll, which in turn destroyed their internal organs." he added. Nel fell to her knees and started to cry. Ichigo immediately was by her side, holding her tightly.

"Why? They did nothing wrong. If it wasn't for Aizen making all of us arrancar in the first place, this never would have happened." she sobbed.

"Nel..." Ichigo said. She looked at him, and smiled faintly. She grabbed his arm tightly, thrust her head to his ear, and whispered: "Don't you go anywhere though. I'll kill you a million times over if you do!". Ichigo then went to her ear and said "I'll never leave you." Nel looked at him, smiled, and got up. She looked around, with tears in her eyes, and said: "Pesche, Dondochakka, you two were my best friends here. I'll always remember you, and may you two rest in peace." she said, closing her eyes. The group bowed their heads, and Nel looked around. "Wow, these people...are _special_." she thought.

"Okay. I'm finished." Nel said. "Let's go look for your friend Rukia." she added.

Gantenbainne looked around as well, wondering what he should do. Ichigo grabbed him by the shoulder and looked at him. "You're coming with us. If Chad wanted you to be healed, then there's something good about you. The name's Kurosaki Ichigo." he said, holding out his hand. Gantenbainne took Ichigo's hand, and they shook hands.

"Gantenbainne Morsqueda." he replied to Ichigo. The group smiled at this, and together they flash stepped away to find Rukia. They got a fix on Rukia's location, and sped to it. However, they were soon stopped. Out in front of them appeared Yammy, with an evil grin on his face.

"So, what might your little rag-tag team be doing here? He asked. He looked over the group, and happened to glance over Nel. His eyes became really wide. "Oh shit. Neliel is with them! And apparently she's and ally of them now... Aizen-sama must know of this. Oh shit this is bad!" he said to himself.

"Neliel! Your betrayal will be your downfall! Aizen's gonna find out what you've done, and when he does, ya gonna have hell to pay!" he shouted. He turned around and was about to leave. However, Gantenbainne moved in front of him and punched him to the ground. Yammy looked at Gantenbainne funny and closed his eyes.

"Your betrayal will also be punished. However, it will by by my hand-you worthless _privarion_ Espada." he said. Gantenbainne smiled and readied himself for the fight. "We'll see." he said. He looked towards Ichigo and the others, and put his thumb in the air. "Don't worry about me. Go save your friend. Besides, I owe all of you anyway for saving my skin." he said.

"Wait! You'll be killed!" Ichigo said. Gantenbainne shook his head from side to side.

"Not a chance. Yammy's the weakest Espada. Even though he is stronger than me, I am still strong enough such that he has to watch his back while fighting me. If he does not, chances are that _I_ would beat him." he said.

"All right. Promise us though that you won't die!" Ichigo said. Gantenbainne nodded, and turned towards Yammy. He rushed Yammy, and the two of them went through a wall. "Now's our chance! Run!!" Ichigo said, flash stepping away. The group did the same and hurried to Rukia's location.

They got in there st the same time another arrancar began to enter the room. "Are you all companions of this shinigami?" He asked.

"You're damn right." Ichigo said. "And who might you be?" he asked. The arrancar looked at him, and smiled. I am Zommari Leroux, Espada number seven of Aizen-sama's army.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. And you will NOT go anywhere near Rukia!" he said, drawing Tensa Zangetsu.

"Your hotheadedness will lead to your demise." Zommari said. Ichigo looked on and said nothing. "If you won't come, then I will first finish her off, and then you." he said, turning towards Rukia. Ichigo flash stepped to Zommari to strike. His blade fell on empty air. Zommari reappeared behind him with his soul slayer out.

"Foolish shinigami. You will never be able to keep up with my speed." he said, thrusting the sword at Ichigo. He saw it, and narrowly dodged it. He leaped back only to have Zommari reappear behind him. He swung his sword across Ichigo's back. Ichigo could not move fast enough to adjust his direction quick enough to counter. He was slashed badly, and blood erupted from the wound. He fell to the ground in pain. Everyone got pissed.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted, covering her mouth. Her eyes began to water as Ishida took hold of her. "He'll be fine. If that could kill Ichigo then chances are we'd all be dead right now." he said, looking at Orihime with confident eyes. She knew he was right, but just couldn't say anything at the moment. Renji flash stepped to Rukia to pick her up, but was halted by Zommari.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he asked. Renji growled and let Zabimaru fly. Zommari dodged it and was pinned against the wall by Nel. There was a pink flame burning in her eyes as her reaitsu made the room shake like mad.

"You hurt Ichigo. I will now pay for that." she said, drawing Gamuza. Zommari smiled as Nel thrust the sword at him. It went through the body, but nothing happened.

"What?!" Nel shouted. Zommari just disappeared and there was nothing there. He was hiding in a corner masking his reaitsu. "With Nel there, this will be difficult. However, I am the fastest among the Espada." he said to himself. He took a step forward and flash stepped to drive his soul slayer through Nel. Ichigo smiled. His plan worked. He had seen the whole thing. As Zommari came out of flash step Ichigo stood up.

"Getsuga Tensho!" he shouted. A black slice of dark energy flew to the arrancar, which startled him, and gave Nel the time to dodge. She grabbed Renji and Rukia along the way. The blast hit Zommari, but once again he vanished afterward.

"What's with his ability?" Ishida asked. Nel looked at him and gave a reply. "Zommari Leroux is the fastest Espada. He can move so fast that during his flash step he can take another step while in mid-step. As a result of this speed he gives off the illusion that there are more than one of him. Both defensively and offensively this move is deadly. Gemelos Sonido it's called." she said. Everyone's eyes opened really wide.

"So what?! He's fast. I guess that means I'll just have to go faster." Ichigo said, smirking. Nel looked at him, and smiled. "Good grief I've got it bad for him." she said to herself. Zommari chuckled to himself as he stepped out of the shadows.

"If you want to try that theory out, by all means come at me." he said.

"Wait, Kurosaki!" Ishida said. Ichigo looked at him with an inquisitive face. "If he really is that much faster than us, wouldn't it be wise for us to attack at once so that he would not be able to dodge all of us?" he said.

"That's a great plan. I'll be sure to counter it." Zommari said. The group looked at him shocked.

"Bastard! Why were you listening in on us!" Renji said. Zommari looked at him and replied: "Fool. You all were discussing your strategy in front of me." Renji fell silent as Zommari smiled. Ichigo stepped forward, with Tensa Zangetsu in hand.

"Who cares if you know it? If it beats you, the lets do it!" he said. "NOW!!" he shouted, running toward the Espada. Everyone followed suit, readying their weapons to strike. Zommari grinned as he held his soul slayer in a defensive posture.

Wow. The main character of the chapter didn't appear until the END. Don't worry, he'll be getting more time in the next chapter, which will be mostly about the battle between Zommari and everyone else. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I'll keep on writing! Exams are coming up, so I might not update for a short while. But I will update don't worry.


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